


The gift of the middle schooler

by Myqueenmarceline



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, F/F, Fluff, This is tropey, i know it is, i love it, romcom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:27:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28178382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myqueenmarceline/pseuds/Myqueenmarceline
Summary: Finn gives his favourite teachers some Christmas gifts, and brings them closer together in the process. (this is a middle school AU, where Finn is a student and Marceline and PB are both teachers)
Relationships: Princess Bubblegum/Marceline
Comments: 6
Kudos: 63





	The gift of the middle schooler

**Author's Note:**

> This inspired by the WONDERFUL art of orangcs on tumblr, I highly suggest you go view her art before reading this, since it inspired this whole thing: https://orangcs.tumblr.com/post/637625396324614144/middle-schooler-with-adhd-accidentally-reignites
> 
> Big thank you to nebula-gaster for beta reading this, I always really appreciate it.

“Miss Marceline!” A voice called out, and Marceline held her thermos of coffee closer to her chest just in case.

“Hey kid, what’s up?” She turned, smiling a bit as she saw the familiar blonde bouncing towards her. That kid had endless energy, and Marceline could always appreciate a bit of chaos.

“I have to go to class but I wanted to say Merry Christmas bye!” Finn tossed a package at her, and sprinted down the hall. He bumped into a hall monitor, then kept running as they yelled at him.

“Thanks!” Marceline called after him, holding the package with one hand. She shook it a bit, but it just felt like a regular box. Ah well, she could see what it was later.

She tucked the package under her arm, and swung open the door to her classroom. “Alright, who’s ready to rock?!?”

—X—

Marceline sat in the McDonald’s closest to the school, Finn’s present laying on the table in front of her. She could do the right thing and wait until Christmas to open it, but she had class with Finn tomorrow. Teachers weren’t supposed to show preferential treatment by buying students gifts, but it would be nice to thank him for what he’d gotten her.

Screw it. Marceline tore open the wrapping paper on the front, then dropped the crumpled paper to the side. She held up the gift, tapping her fingers against the back of it.

It was a book, and Marceline frowned a bit as she looked at the cover. The cover proclaimed that it was “Weird Science! 17 New Experiments for the Curious Chemist”. The doodle of the mad scientist with a ghoulish assistant was amusing, but Marceline had a sinking feeling that this wasn’t meant for her. There was only one other teacher Finn had bonded with, and it seemed like she’d gotten their present by mistake.

—X—

The eight graders were usually pretty rowdy, but they quieted down when Marceline said they could leave class five minutes early if they kept quiet about it. Marceline ran them through the pieces for the winter concert twice, but there wasn’t really much else to do. They weren’t amazing, but this group had enough band kids in it that there were hardly any mistakes. The parents probably wouldn’t notice anything at all.

Once that was wrapped up and the instruments were put away, Marceline headed down the hall towards the labs. Technically there was only one lab and the rest were classrooms, but everyone saw it as “the labs”. Given how many times the fire alarm had gone off, there might as well have been five of them.

She leaned against the door to the storage room, her hands in her pockets. She pretended to be very interested in the paper snowflakes hung up on the walls, tapping her boot on the ground. Even as a teacher, it always seemed like it took forever for the bell to ring.

The kids all streamed out, laughing and chattering. Everyone was excited for the holidays, and there were no lockers in this hallway to linger at. Marceline smiled and nodded at a few students who said hi, but didn’t try to start any conversations. She had bigger fish to fry.

About five minutes after the kids were gone, Bonnibel stepped out of the classroom, her messenger bag hanging by her side. Her usual pink sweater vest had been swapped out for a red-and-white striped number, and the tails of her shirt were poking out of the end of it. Marceline had always thought Bonnibel was cute when she was a bit disheveled, but she quickly shot that thought down. They were barely friends these days, and Marceline didn’t want to ruin that by getting all sentimental.

“Hey Bonnibel.” Marceline pushed herself off of the door, taking a step closer.

“Marceline.” Bonnibel turned, her eyes widening a bit. “You’re looking very festive this afternoon.”

“Ah, thanks.” She’d changed her usual silver piercings out for some platinum chains, and dyed the tips of her hair red last night. “I know you’re probably busy and sh—stuff, but I got a gift from Finn today and I think it might be yours.”

“That does make sense.” Bonnibel reached into her messenger bag, pulling out a small box with the same kind of wrapping paper on it. “I was wondering why Finn chose to offer me a CD.”

One corner of the wrapping paper had been neatly opened, the tape still dangling from the edge of the paper. It was folded down just enough for Marceline to see a _Screaming Devils_ CD. The kid had good taste.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with this genre of music of course, but you and I both know who would appreciate this more.” Bonnibel sounded carefully neutral, and Marceline could appreciate the effort. Lord knows they’d spent so long sniping at each other that even a stray word could be considered an insult.

“Yeah, this is pretty sweet. I’ll have to thank the kid.” Marceline tucked the CD into an inside pocket of her leather jacket. “I hope you have fun with your book.”

She turned, ready to leave. It would be nice to stay and chat with Bonnibel, but Marceline knew better than that. It was better to catch her in the middle of the day for that, and Marceline had listened to many rants about colleagues who didn’t understand that Bonnibel wanted to just head home in the past.

“Wait, Marceline.” Bonnibel reached out, but Marceline turned back before she needed to touch her. “While you're here, I got you something. Here, give me a minute.”

“Ah, Bonnie, you really didn’t need to.” Marceline shifted awkwardly, but she didn’t know what else to say as Bonnibel unlocked her classroom door again. She glanced around, but there wasn’t anyone else in the hallway. No one would see the two of them.

Bonnibel stepped out of the classroom soon enough, holding a large package wrapped in gold and white wrapping paper. The star design on it was delicate, and Marceline almost felt bad that she had to open it up. She looked at Bonnibel, but when Bonnibel just kept staring at her, she tore open part of it near the top.

“Thank you.” Marceline said, tracing her fingers over the raised letters of the box. She would recognize this brand anywhere. She ripped a bit more, licking her lips as she saw more.

This was a box of dark chocolates with various fillings, and it looked absolutely delicious. Marceline wasn’t a huge fan of sweets, but the slight bitterness of dark chocolate was amazing, especially when it was mixed with a tangy orange or sharp cherry liqueur. After all this time, Bonnibel still remembered something as small as her chocolate preferences. It was really sweet, but Marceline couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty. She had figured Bonnibel wouldn’t be interested in anything from her, but she should have at least gotten something as a back-up.

“I didn’t get you anything, but I was thinking…” Marceline trailed off, her brain scrambling for a moment. Come on, think what would Bonnie like? “You could come over and I could cook? Just a nice, hearty holiday dinner?” Marceline winced a bit as she realized Bonnibel could have taken it the wrong way, and she waved her hands a bit. “Not—I’m not trying to make this weird or anything, if you want I can totally just get you a present and bring it—”

Thankfully, Bonnibel cut her off and put her out of her misery. “That sounds nice.”

“Okay, great.” Marceline scratched the shaved side of her head, the short hairs brushing against her fingers. “Just, uh, let me know when you’re free, I guess?”

“This weekend.” Bonnibel was confident as always, not even bothering to check her planner to know her schedule. “I’ll be grading mid-terms until the new year, it’s best to meet before then.”

Today was… Wednesday, so that meant Marceline would have a few days to figure out what she was going to prepare and make sure her pantry was stocked. “Sounds good to me. How about Saturday night at seven? I can even pick you up, if you want.”

“I think I can remember where your place is.” Bonnibel’s sly smile was a sight to behold, and it made Marceline’s heart thump a bit. “Do you want me to bring anything?”

“Nah, I’ll take care of it. You just have to show up.” Marceline forced out a chuckle, hoping that it didn’t sound too needy. She wasn’t good at this, but she was trying her best.

“Alright. I’ll see you then. Have a good day, Marceline.” Bonnibel reached out and patted Marceline’s shoulder, sparing her another sweet smile before she walked away.

Marceline stared after her for a moment, watching how her pink ponytail swung back and forth. Her bike was parked in the staff parking lot, so she had to go out the other way. Marceline sighed, shaking her hair out of her face. She had no idea what she was doing, asking Bonnibel to dinner like this. Idle chit-chat and talking about Finn was fine, but spending a few hours alone together was a whole different ball game. Still, what was done was done. Marceline would just have to find a way to make things nice without making Bonnibel think anything weird.

**Author's Note:**

> I know it's been awhile since I posted any bubbline, and I hope y'all like this! I was feeling the spirit of the season and just wanted to post a little one shot. I will hopefully be updating more once my finals are done :)


End file.
